MEASUREMENT OF SPEED

 Speed is a rate variable defined as the time-rate of motion.

Common forms and units of speed measurement:

 linear speed (m/s), and the angular speed (rad/sec) or (rpm).

 Measurement of rotational speed has acquired prominence compared to the

measurement of linear speed.
Tachometers can be classified
1.On the basis of data acquisition
 Contact
 Non contact types
2. Classified as data type
 Analog
 Digital
3. On the basis of working principle .
 Mechanical
 Electrical
4. On the basis of the measurement technique
Time based
Frequency based
• Mechanical Tachometers
• Revolution counter
• Hand speed indicator
• Tachoscope
• Centrifugal tachometer
• Resonance (vibrating read) tachometer

• Electrical Tachometers
• Eddy current or drag cup tachometer
• Tacho generator (DC and AC)

• Contactless electrical Tachometers

• Magnetic pickup tachometer
• Photo-electric tachometer
• Stroboscope

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 Tachometer Generators
 The tachometer generator is an electromechanical device that generates a
voltage output proportional to shaft speed.

 There are two types of tachometer generator

A.C. Tachometer D.C. Tachometer

A.C. Tachometer

 It is similar to a two phase induction motor.

 It consists of a primary winding that is placed mechanically at 90° to the secondary, and
a rotor as shown in fig.

 When the rotor is stationary and the primary winding is excited by an a.c. input voltage,
the induced voltage in the secondary is zero due to the relative positions of the two
windings being placed 90° to each other.
  As the rotor is turned, a voltage is induced in the secondary winding whose
magnitude is proportional to the rotor speed.

 Since the output signal is a voltage, a high input resistance is connected with the
readout instrument to give near-zero current flow In the secondary winding as
shown in fig.

 Any current flow in the output winding will cause a voltage drop which will be
subtracted from the true measured voltage and thus give the error in speed
measurement.

 With this type of tachometer, speed in the range of 500 to 10000 rpm may be
measured.
D.C.Tachometer

 It consists of a permanent magnet to provide the magnetic flux, and an output

winding placed on the rotor(known as armature), as shown in fig.

 When the rotor is stationary, there in no relative motion between magnetic field and
winding, and the output voltage is zero.

 As rotor speed increases, the relative

motion between magnetic field and
winding also increases and hence an output
voltage is induced in the winding which is
sinusoidal and whose magnitude is
proportional to the rotor speed.

 A commutator and brushes are fixed to the rotor to convert the a.c voltage in the
winding to a d.c output voltage, in the same manner as the d.c generator.

 With this type of tachometer, speed in the range of 10 to 5000 rpm may be
measured.
 Dc tachogenerators

AC tachogenerator
Advantages

1.The output voltage is small enough to measure it with conventional d.c voltmeters.

2.The polarity of output voltage directly indicates the direction of rotation.

Disadvantages

1.Because of variations in contact resistance, considerable error is introduced in the

output voltage. Hence periodic maintenance of the commutator and brushes is required.

2.Non-linearity in the output of the d.c tachogenerator occurs because of distortions in

the permanent magnetic field due to large armature currents. Hence input resistance of
meter should be very high as compared to the output resistance of the generator.
S.No DC TACHOGENERATORS AC TACHOGENERATORS

1 The construction consists of a horseIt consists of a stator and a rotor arrangement

shoe type permanent magnet. or a squirrel cage setup.
2 Speed is measured with a moving Speed is measured with a moving coil
coil voltmeter. instrument either a permanent magnet or an
electromagnet.
3 Reversal of rotation causes the Reversal of rotation causes the same action
voltmeter to show a negative except there is a 180 degree phase shift.
reading , hence keeping the pointer
on the mid scale speeds in both the
directions can be displayed.
4 Direction of rotation is directly Change in the direction of the rotation causes
indicated by polarity of the output phase shift.
voltage.
5 Conventional voltmeters can be Output voltage is rectified with a permanent
used as indicators. magnet moving coil instrument.
 Eddy current or Magnetic Drag cup tachometer
 In the magnetic-drag cup type of tachometer, a transducer produces an analog
signal in the form of a continuous drag due to eddy currents induced in an
aluminium cup.

 The induced current is proportional to speed

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 It consists of a rotor which is coupled to the rotor shaft of the machine whose speed is to
be measured.

 A permanent magnet is attached to the rotor which rotates within aluminum cup
alongwith the rotor.

 A spindle is attached to the aluminum cup,to which a pointer is fixed as shown in fig.

 A hairspring is fixed to the spindle, which provides necessary controlling torque.

 At no revolutions, it positions the pointer at zero on the calibrated scale.

 As the magnet rotates within the aluminum cup alongwith the shaft of the machine,
eddy currents are induced in the cup which results in a torque or drag that tends to turn
(or deflect) the cup against the spring.

 The deflection of the cup is proportional to the induced emf, which in turn is
proportional to the speed of the shaft.

 The deflection is
indicated by the
pointer which moves
on a calibrated dial
scale
 These types of tachometers are commonly used in automobiles which measure
the angular speed of the wheel.

 In case of the car wheel, the angular speed is converted in to a linear speed in
Km/hour.

 In some locations such as aircraft engines, mechanical coupling of the magnet is

replaced by an electric drive
Revolution counter(Speed Counter)
Revolution counter(Speed Counter)
 The revolution counter consists of a worm gear which is connected to shaft
attachment and is driven by the speed source.

 The worm drives the spur gear which in turn actuates the pointer on a
calibrated dial.
 The pointer indicates the number of revolutions turned by the input shaft in a
certain length of time.

 The unit requires a separate timer to measure the time interval.

 The revolution counter thus, gives an average rotational speed rather than
instantaneous rotational speed.

 Such speed counters are limited to low speed engines which permit reading the
counter at definite time intervals.

 A properly designed and

manufactured revolution
counter would give a
satisfactory speed measure
upto 2000-3000 rpm.
 Advantages
It gives average rotational speed with respect to time.
Ideal for measuring speed of engines having low operating speed.
Assembly is sturdy and the mechanism lasts for longer duration
without maintenance.
Ideal for heavy duty machinery.
Disadvantages
 Can not give instantaneous velocity of driving shaft.

 Impose a load on the shaft on which they are connected. As a result

they absorb power

 The counter and timer cannot be started simultaneously.

 Not ideal for high speed operations and low power engines as it may
show errors.
STROBOSCOPIC METHOD
This method measures the periodic or rotary motions by a device
called a STROBOSCOPE.

This instrument is a simple and manually operated device.

The speed is measured by adjusting the receptor frequency so that

the moving section is visible at a particular time interval
 Basically, the instrument is a source of variable frequency flashing light, the flashing
frequency being set by the operator.

 The circuit used is based upon variable frequency oscillator which controls the flashing
frequency.

 The speed is measured by adjusting the frequency so that the moving object are visible
only at specific intervals of time.

 The method of use of the stroboscope depends upon imperfect dynamic response of
the human eye.

 If a strong light is caused to flash on a moving object which, at the time of each flash
occurs, occupies a given position, the object will appears to be stationary.

 The stroboscope consists of a

source of flashing light whose
frequency can be varied and
controlled. This source is called
“strobotron”
Shaft speed measurement:

 A distinctive mark is made on the shaft or on a disc attached to the shaft as shown.

 A stroboscope is made to flash light directly on the mark.

 The flashing frequency is adjusted until the mark appears stationary

 Under these conditions, the speed is equal to the flashing frequency, provided that the
approximate speed of the shaft is known in advance and the flashing frequency is not
allowed to depart too much away from this value.

 This scale of the

stroboscope is calibrated
in terms of speed which
can be directly read off.
 For exact speed measurement, the flashing rate is adjusted and synchronism is
attained (appearance of a single line stationary image) for the highest rate of
flashing

 If synchronism occurs at n different flashing rates f1,f2,f3,….fn, then the actual shaft
speed is calculated from the relation
Advantages
 Imposes no load on the shaft hence no power loss.

 Non contact type hence, no attachments needed.

 Convenient to use for spot checks on machinery speeds and laboratory

work.

Disadvantages
 The variable frequency oscillator circuit cannot be stabilized to give a
fixed frequency hence less accurate than digital meters.

 Cannot be used where ambient light is above a certain level.

 Requires well defined lighting conditions for efficient operations

 Errors are caused due to slight variation in the frequency.